Riding solely on Naveen Patnaik's popularity, the ruling BJD has been winning every bypoll held after the 2019 general elections. But, in Dhamnagar this did not prove to be sufficient.
The rivalry between the BJP and BJD parties has become sharper since the last elections which saw the BJP emerging as the main opposition party in the state after pushing the Congress to the third spot.
BJD's Alaka Mohanty won the Brajarajnagar assembly seat with a margin of more than 65,000 votes from her nearest rival Kishore Patel of the Congress. BJP's Radha Rani Panda finished third.